


Cain & Abel

by fairyplumprincess



Series: Sweet Sinner [10]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Coma, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Post-Suicide Mission, Secrets, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25192072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairyplumprincess/pseuds/fairyplumprincess
Summary: It's been weeks and the boys have come up with nothing about their little brothers' rapist - but until things start looing up.(Or, rather, forward.)
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders
Series: Sweet Sinner [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1694095
Comments: 3
Kudos: 31





	Cain & Abel

It has been weeks and the twins have come up with nothing.

Remus thought he noticed a pattern when he read Romulus’s notes and noticed that only some words were highlighted instead of full sentences. Sadly, that fell through when he looked at worksheets and study guides that held the same pattern - his little brother focused on key words and concepts rather than crowding his mind with full sentences. _Huh,_ Remus thought through his frustration, _that would’ve been helpful in Organic Chemistry._

Roman was so close, yet so far, when a certain name was scribbled out of papers from a group project. Problem was: Romulus covered the name with sharpie, different letters, or water damage - there was no telling what that name was. There was no way a middle school teacher would still have, or even remember, the group projects ~~Reina~~ was in.

The twins had even poured through people who signed in to the wake. Too many kids who went to school with Romulus had showed up because their parents probably forced them too - and not everybody signed in, either.

Neither Logan or their students knew about their mission - it was their little secret. But it was moments like this, laying on a carpet that hadn’t been vacuumed in years staring up at the ceiling, that fresh eyes would be helpful.

But how would they even explain what had happened? You can’t just _show_ people a personalized suicide note - Romulus wouldn’t have wanted that, and the twins knew that their brother’s feelings mattered more than their need for answers.

“The only people who know Rom good enough to be of use would be Mom and Dad and that’s....” Roman spoke up suddenly and trailed off. Remus wasn’t sure he had spoken or if Roman was thinking out loud and they held the same train of thought.

“I’m trying to think back about if he had friends. I don’t remember any, to be honest,” Remus supplied, waving his pen in the air, “I thought maybe I was a bad brother, but I think he didn’t have friends like that.”

“What about the one he said he’d have a sleepover with?” Roman suddenly sat up, hitting Remus in the leg, “They must’ve brought him there!”

Remus sat up, too, in shock. “Either they brought him there, or they agreed to be the cover up in case Mom asked where he was.”

~

“Mijos, we don’t need to talk about her.” Rosa Reyes insisted, throwing her hands up in the air as she stormed away from her sons.

“Mama, please,” Remus begged as the twins trailed on her heels, “We just need to know the name of the kid.”

“What did you not hear about ‘no’? Reina is *dead.* My only daughter está con sus abuelos - que más quieren?” Rosa snapped, opening the fridge with more aggression than necessary.

“Mama, why are you getting so defensive?” Roman asked pathetically. _Why was it so difficult?_ Here the two of them were, constantly deadnaming and misgendering their little brother to get some answers - and it’s all for nothing.

“Because Dahlia’s mother said that she was never there! She didn’t even know that Dahlia and Reina were friends!” Rosa yelled at the ceiling, hoping her outburst was enough to scare her sons.

It wasn’t - they were used to this by now. They both stood there with non-accusing, neutral faces. They were getting closer.

“She said that Dahlia wasn’t even home that night. She was at some party - Adrianna Caen or whoever.” Rosa poured herself a glass of water with shaky hands, “I bet Reina went to that party and just knew that Dahlia would be there too, so she lied to us. I can’t believe it. Four years later and I still can’t believe my daughter lied to me.”

The twins glanced at each other for a moment before turning back to their mother. Adri Cain was one of the head painters for the theatre program. They had to know something - or, at least, Dahlia could know something.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up, Mama.” Roman grumbled before walking out of the kitchen, Remus silently following him up to his room.

Rosa stared at her two sons questioningly. _Wasn’t it bad enough that she lost her only daughter? What was the point of bringing it up, now, anyways?_ She supposed that maybe they were upset at her for not visiting the grave on the anniversary, but what was the point? Nothing will bring her daughter back.

~

“Hey Adri, can Remus and I talk to you really quickly?” Roman had jogged up to the teenager, who was packing up their things to leave.

Adri turned around confused, but open to the conversation. “Of course! What’s up?”

“It’s a few personal questions, if you don’t mind,” Roman was carefully watching Adri’s face, as well as Dahlia’s, who was next to them. “Do you remember the party you had four years ago? My little sister Reina would’ve been there.”

“Reina?” Dahlia perked up, shoulders going stiff.

“Yes,” Remus replied from behind Roman, trying to hide his discomfort about the feminine name. “Was she there?”

“I guess you could call it that,” Adri seemed oblivious to the twin eyebrow raise on the directors’ faces, “She was there for a bit, then randomly disappeared, but then she was there the next morning as if she was there the whole time.”

“I walked her to the bathroom,” Dahlia added, “She said she’d meet us back downstairs for the game and to not wait up for her. She never came back downstairs, and the bathroom was empty when I went back. I thought maybe she was using the party as a cover up for something else?”

“I didn’t know she would be there, but most catholic school parties tend to have a few extra kids in attendance because we rarely have them. My parents were okay with it since it was a girls-only party anyways.” Adri seemed more confused but more open to the conversation and they spoke, and Dahlia had certainly relaxed. “Only a few girls were allowed to sleepover, the only boys in the house were my dad and my brother, Abel. I don’t know where she slept that night because she wasn’t downstairs with us, but she walked out of the bathroom the next morning and joined us at the breakfast table as if she was.”

“Was there anything off about breakfast, besides Reina randomly showing up?” Roman asked.

“Either about her or anyone else, if you can remember.” Remus added, hands clenching. Abel Cain was a senior when they first started their job as directors, and always seemed to shadow the two directors - and even asked questions about how they were coping since ~~Reina~~.

Back then, they brushed it off as an unhealthy attachment to authority or seeking validation, but Remus was mentally singling out all the times Abel referred to ~~Reina~~ as “he” before correcting himself. At that point, there should’ve only been one person who knew about Romulus being transgender.

“Reina did seem super uncomfortable, but I was also staring at her a bit.” Dahlia stated simply, “I thought I was catching her in the act of covering something up and she felt guilty.”

“Abel was also awake and eating with us, which he never does unless it’s a school day. He also refused to sit down at the table next to me,” Adri stared off, as if trying to recall the morning, “He just stood behind her chair.”

“Did that not seem like a cause for concern?” Remus asked through gritted teeth, knuckles white and nails digging into his palms.

Roman put a hand on Remus’s shoulder as the teenagers tensed up. “What he’s trying to say is: is there anything else that seemed off?”

“Abel offered to walk her home,” Dahlia started apprehensively, “But she didn’t say anything. She just looked at him and suddenly grabbed her bag and kept walking out. Didn’t even say goodbye to the rest of us who were right there.”

“I scolded him after,” Adri added slowly, “I thought that maybe he had a crush and was being too forward with her. I told him he was being creepy and that if he wanted to talk to her more, he shouldn’t have done it like that.”

The twins stared at each other. The puzzle pieces were falling together.

“Can we ask why you’re asking? It’s been four years now. And Reina’s-” Dahlia slung her bag onto her shoulder, ready to run.

“Is there a way we can talk to Abel?” Roman asked, trying not to sound as angry as he was.

“Not really.” Adri shifted their feet as they stared at them. “Abel’s been in a coma since he got into a drunk driving accident, and we’re going to be pulling the plug after the show. It’s costing too much to keep him alive and it doesn’t look like he’s going to wake up.”

“How much money is it a month?” Remus shot his head up, making the students flinch, “I’ll pay it for as long as I need to. We *need* to talk to Abel.”

“No.” Adri stated coldly, making the twins flinch this time. “You can pay the bills so my parents won’t go further into debt, but you can’t pay for our peace. He’s not going to wake up, and we need to move on with our lives. I don’t want to see my brother gone, but he already is. I can’t keep on like this, and neither can my parents. We’ve made our choice as a family - so can we go or are you going to tell Dahlia and I what’s going on?”

“Reina only went out for a sleepover once the year they died, and they said they went to a party and was sexually assaulted.” Roman answered, not feeling right about telling Romulus’s story, or even outing them, but he couldn’t do it anymore. They needed _more_ , anything more. “Until recently, **that** person was the only person who knew they were trans - and Abel definitely knew of that.”

“He can’t give you anything, he’s basically dead.” Adri pulled their lips into a tight line. “How about you ask one of his other teachers? They might be able to give you something. I’m sorry for what he did, but there’s nothing I can do.”

“We understand, and thank you for letting us talk to you. I know this was difficult.” Roman replied, guilt setting in.

The two students scuttled away from their directors, book bags and jackets in hand.

The two directors stood there, staring at the ground with watering eyes.

“We _did_ know him.” Remus gritted out as tears spilled over.

Roman’s glassy eyes glanced over his brother before pulling him into a hug, softly crying into his shoulder in the now-empty auditorium.

All they wanted was more answers, but it's left them with nothing left.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I found out through an update on one of my bookmarked stories that you're apparently not supposed to post of AO3 between midnight and 5am because it won't properly show up? Have you guys been finding that issue with your works?


End file.
